TO THE RESCUE! 
167 
aid of the axe, the men soon had it fitted out for another 
voyage. 
A long push, a strong push, and a push all together ! " 
shouted Robert. The stubborn old raft moved inch by 
inch, then slid off the bar, and floated grandly away once 
more, bearing its little band of adventurers, young and 
old. 
In due time they arrived at Fort Selkirk. They 
landed eagerly^ and searched about for traces of their 
friends, the date being July 14, or four days beyond that 
appointed for the meeting. 
Traces there were in abundance, but no letter. A 
violent storm, of which they had experienced but the 
edge, had evidently passed over the place not long before, 
and nearly obliterated the tracks of the visitors. But 
Joe and Jim had sharp eyes, and they presently pointed 
out to Mr. Button the little heel-prints of the ladies, as 
well as the firmly defined marks left by the lieutenant's 
boot. There were numerous other tracks, seemingly 
older than these, which the guides did not understand. 
One thing was plain : the salt-water branch of the expe- 
dition had reached the spot, and, without waiting even 
one night, had continued their journey — presumably 
down the Yukon, whose waters, increased at this point by 
the whole mass of the swift Pelly, rolled downward 
toward the sea in a broad, turbid flood. Why the lieu- 
tenant had departed so hastily, without leaving any mes- 
sage, was something Mr. Dutton could not comprehend. 
